Close Ties
by Darke-Angyl
Summary: Something had always been missing from Shane's life. What happens when he finds it unexpectedly? I just realized with Shane and Rick listed together some of you may think I'm pairing them up in this story. I'm not. LOL They are just the main two canon characters mentioned in the story. Others are, too, but not as often as they are. Rick is with Lori in this story.
1. Chapter 1

Shane muttered to himself as he walked around the perimeter of the farm. He had started taking on more and more of the patrols himself. He just couldn't stand to see Lori hugging Rick while staring at him over her husband's shoulder. He couldn't even see Carl anymore, and that was what hurt him the most. He had really started thinking of his best friend's son as his own.

Shane sighed as he started remembering the past. He had wanted a family for as long as he could remember. There had even been a time, years before, when he had thought he would have the family he had always dreamed of. He had been the star football player in high school, but he had never planned on playing in college. Instead, he and his best friend, Rick, were going to the police academy together. Rick was planning to marry his girlfriend, Lori, and Shane had the same plans with his own girlfriend.

Unfortunately, Anna's parents had had other plans for them. They pulled Anna out of school with only two weeks to go before the end of their junior year. They had both cried the day they had to say good-bye.

Shane had basically just gone through the motions of his senior year. He had continued to play football and made sure to keep his grades up so that he could enter the police academy with Rick, but he had never been the same again. He started drinking and began sleeping around with any woman who happened to catch his eye.

Shane had gone into a café while on lunch break one day almost two years after high school graduation. Rick had gone home to have lunch with Lori, who was pregnant. He had nodded a thanks to the waitress as she set a glass of water and a menu in front of him.

"Shane?" the waitress had inquired softly.

Shane had looked up with wide eyes, unable to believe his ears. "Anna!" he had exclaimed. He had jumped up and wrapped his arms around her, swinging her around in a circle.

Anna had laughed softly and had returned Shane's hug as he had put her back on her feet. She had given him a bright smile that seemed to light up the entire café. "You did it," she had commented, motioning to the uniform he had been wearing.

Shane had nodded. "What about you, Anna? Are you going to the University of Georgia like you always wanted to?"

Anna's eyes had darkened slightly, and she had shaken her head. "That didn't work out," she had whispered. She had held up her hand to show him the wedding band that was on the ring finger of her left hand. "I got married instead."

Shane had felt as if she had reached into his chest and ripped out his heart. Without saying another word, he had left the café and hadn't looked back. His drinking and womanizing had only gotten worse after that.

Shane sighed and shook his head, forcing his thoughts to return to the present. Remembering the past wasn't going to do any good or help him find the things that were missing in his life. It wasn't going to give him a family.


	2. Chapter 2

Alyssa moved slow but steady through the woods. She had escaped Robert, Peter, and her dad, Steven, almost a week before and had been using the survival skills that they had branded into her for as long as she could remember to make it on her own. Knowing that she needed to rest for a while, she stopped walking and looked around for a place to do it. Her eyes came to rest on a clump of bushes, and she dropped down onto her knees and crawled under them to try to get some sleep.

Shane kept walking, going a little further than any of them would normally go while out on a patrol. He still hadn't come across any walkers, and he was getting more agitated instead of less. He sighed, deciding to stop and rest for a while. He sat down under a tree and leaned back against its trunk, closing his eyes to rest for a little while.

Alyssa shifted around a few times under the bushes before she finally got comfortable enough to be able to get some rest. She closed her eyes, not realizing that one of her bare feet was sticking out from under the bush in plain view of anyone who happened to come by.

Shane frowned, keeping his eyes closed as he started hearing a rustling sound. He eased his gun out of its holster and pulled back on the hammer. As he opened his eyes, the rustling sound stopped. He slowly sat up, his eyes narrowing as he looked around. He didn't see any sign of a walker at first, but then he noticed the bare foot sticking out from under a bush a few feet away.

Alyssa shifted again, her foot disappearing back inside the bush.

Shane growled, hurrying over and reaching into the bush. His hand closed around an ankle, and he pulled and dragged the body out. He leveled his gun at the head, expecting to see dead eyes staring up at him. He hesitated, his eyes widening when he realized that he had grabbed a young girl instead of a walker.

Alyssa woke up as soon as someone grabbed her by the ankle. Figuring it was her dad or one of his two friends, she kept herself relaxed. She was momentarily shocked when she looked up into the face of a stranger, but she recovered quickly. She took advantage of his obvious shock and knocked the gun out of his grasp. She twisted her ankle out of his grasp, feeling and hearing the bones in it snap, and kicked his legs out from under him. She jumped up quickly and started limping away as fast as she could.

Shane couldn't believe it as he landed hard on his back, the air rushing out of his lungs. He heard the bones break in the girl's ankle, watching in amazement as she hurried away. He pushed himself back up on his feet and went after her.

Alyssa heard the man as he started chasing after her. She knew she would never be able to outrun him with a broken ankle. Looking around, she realized that there was really no place for her to hide until he gave up searching for her. Determined that she would never be someone's prisoner again, she did the only thing left available to her. She turned around and attacked him before he could get close to her. She punched him in the face and lifted her foot with the broken ankle, planting it deep into his stomach.

Shane fell to his knees, gasping, shocked by the girl's strength. "Stop!" he shouted. He rolled away from her attack and moved quickly behind her. He wrapped his arms tight around hers, pinning them to her sides, and fell to the ground so he could wrap his legs around hers. "I'm not gonna hurt ya, but you've gotta stop fighting!"

Alyssa let her body relax and brought her head back, connecting with his mouth. She twisted, trying to break his hold on her. "I'm not gonna be a prisoner to anyone ever again! Let me go!" She started wheezing, one of the broken ribs that Robert had caused before she had managed to escape breaking through the skin on her left side as she fought him.

Shane growled, turning his head to spit out a mouthful of blood. He jerked his arm when he felt something poke him, looking down and seeing the broken rib that was poking out of her skin. He growled louder and grabbed her chin, tilting her head up so that she had no choice but to look up at him. "I'm not gonna hurt you or take you prisoner, but ya hurt and need help. Let me take ya back at my camp. There's someone there that can fix that ankle and rib for ya."

Alyssa made a face, still trying to get out of his hold. "I told you I won't be a prisoner again. I'll kill you first!"

Shane shook the girl slightly, getting frustrated. "Ya comin' at camp with me whether ya like it or not. I can't let ya go around injured like that. Walkers'll get ya in no time." He stared into her eyes, surprised to realize that there was something familiar about them. He shook his head slightly, dismissing that thought from his mind for now. "Once you're healed up, ya can go anywhere ya want. Okay?"

Alyssa stopped struggling, breathing heavy as she studied his eyes. Despite her natural reservations, there was something about the man that she found herself trusting. He was different than every other man she had ever met. "I guess I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

Shane relaxed a little as the girl stopped struggling against him, but he didn't let her go. "No," he confirmed. "Ya don't."


	3. Chapter 3

Shane made sure that the girl was calm before he let go of her. He got up and walked over to retrieve his gun from where the girl had kicked it out of his hand, putting it back into its holster and shaking his head as he stepped back over to her. "You're quite the fighter," he commented, an admiring tone in his voice. "What's your name?"

Alyssa frowned as she studied the man but sighed in resignation, realizing that he wasn't going to leave her alone. She decided if she cooperated with him, at least a little, she could get him to lower his guard enough that she would be able to get away from him at some point. "My name's Alyssa."

Shane looked into the girl's eyes as she spoke. Something about her seemed really familiar, but he quickly dismissed the idea. He didn't know anyone who lived in this area, at least not before the outbreak. "Nice to meet you, Alyssa," Shane commented as he leaned over and scooped her into his arms. He cradled her body close to his chest as he started walking back toward camp.

"I can walk, you know," Alyssa said with a grumble. She clenched her teeth together at the pain that went through her ankle with his movements, but she didn't make a sound. She hated being weak, especially when it put her in situations where she had to be dependent on someone else.

"Not with a broken ankle, ya can't," Shane retorted. "My name's Shane, by the way. I'll take ya ta Hershel. He owns the land my group is camping on, and he seems ta be able ta do this medical stuff." He tried to hold her as close to his body as he could so that her body wouldn't jostle around too much with his movement. He knew she had to be in a great deal of pain and was surprised she wasn't crying or screaming or something.

Alyssa sighed and nodded, closing her eyes and attempting not to pay attention to the pain she was in. She wasn't sure if she was in a good situation or not, but it had to be better than the one she had run away from. Besides, there was something about this man that she trusted. She had no idea what it was or why she did, but she did. She kept her eyes on the man as he carried her, trying to read what it was that he wanted from her. She needed to figure out why he was helping her, anything that would help her handle her current situation and find a way out of it.

Shane headed immediately for the farm house when he got to camp half an hour later. He nodded at Rick as he passed by the room where Carl was staying but didn't slow down. "Hershel!" he called out. He looked down at the girl. "You'll be okay soon. Don't worry."

"Shane, what's going on?" Lori demanded, coming to the doorway of Carl's room. She glanced over her shoulder to confirm that Rick was joining her. Her eyes were wide at the sight of the girl in Shane's arms. "Who is that?"

Shane ignored Lori as Hershel came in from the kitchen. "I found this girl in the woods. She's not bitten or scratched or nothin', but she's got a broken ankle and one of her ribs is broken and pushed through her skin. I told 'er you could help her."

Hershel nodded, turning to walk down the hall to the last unoccupied room he had available. "This way," he instructed. "Lay her on the bed, and I'll see what I can do." He looked down at the girl. "I can't promise it'll be as good as a doctor, but I'm a veterinarian and promise to do the best I can."

Shane nodded, carefully laying Alyssa on top of the bed and giving her a soft smile before he stepped back to allow Hershel the room he needed to work. He crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the door frame, his eyes never leaving the girl.

Alyssa watched all of them warily, staying silent. She didn't even make any noises of pain as the man with the white hair started pressing around on her ankle and side, clenching her teeth to make sure she stayed silent. She knew better than to make noise. Grown ups, especially men, didn't like it.

Hershel noted the ripped clothes and the fact that the girl wasn't wearing any shoes. "Ran away from somewhere, huh?" he asked gently. He chuckled when the girl looked away from him. "Don't worry. No one here is gonna make you go back to wherever you came from. It doesn't look like they were treating you very well there."

Rick came up behind Shane and put his hand on his shoulder. "What's going on, Shane?"

Shane shrugged. "Found her in the woods. She broke her ankle fightin' me." He sighed when Rick's eyebrows raised. "I wasn't tryin' ta do nothin' to her. I saw she was hurt and was tryin' ta convince her ta come back here with me. She started shoutin' about never being no one's prisoner again and attacked me. The girl can fight somethin' fierce."

"We need to find out who she is and where she came from, Shane. We can't risk people coming looking for her and attacking our family and friends." Rick sighed, studying the girl. "She kind of looks familiar, doesn't she?"

"She looks like Anna," Lori commented from behind them. "I saw it the second he carried her in."


End file.
